Every Me Loves Every You
by MPPMaraudergirl
Summary: Compilation of James/Lily fanfiction set in alternate universes. One way or another, they will find their way to each other.
1. Wrong Number

Wrong Number

**Disclaimer:** Harry Potter and everything related belongs first, and foremost, to JK Rowling, and then to her partnerships with Bloomsbury, Scholastics, Warner Bros., etc.

**Author's Note:** I have posted a lot of stories on my tumblr and here is where I will compile the AU one-shots I write. Reviews are always welcome!

**Summary:** 'I need bailing out and I called the wrong number' AU prompt from tumblr.

* * *

"I should be asleep right now," Lily repeated for the sixteenth time to Marlene, who had long since ignored these particular words when strung together by her friend. They lied sprawled out along the large sofa in their flat, Marlene mindlessly clicking through the late-night infomercials. Feet away in the kitchen, their other flat-mate Mary was slamming cabinets open in search of her favorite late-night snack.

"_It is half past one in the morning_," Lily informed them. "I should be sleeping. We all should be sleeping! I—"

Her mobile, which rested precariously upon her overlarge tee shirt, started buzzing, illuminating her features in the darkened room, and successfully silencing her complaints.

"Who the hell is calling at this hour?"

"I don't recognize the number—"

"Don't answer, Lil—"

But, "Hello?"

"PADFOOT! PADFOOT YOU BASTARD!" an irate voice came through the line, causing Lily to pull the phone inches from her ear. Marlene clicked on the lamp nearest her as she sat up straighter.

"Err—hello? What's Padfoot—"

"THEY'VE LOCKED ME UP, YOU PRAT. THIS IS _NOT FUNNY_."

Lily's eyes widen as she covered the mouth-piece with her hand. "This bloke's in the nick!" Marlene stifled her laughter as she shoved Mary onto the sofa to join in listening.

"Oi!" Lily said loudly, through the chattering of the angry voice. "Whoever you are, this isn't Padfoot! You've called the wrong number—"

"What? For fuck's sake!" Lily could hear the voice soften as the man turned away from his mouth-piece. "I've dialed the wrong number. Can I get another call?" A muffled voice seemed to respond unfavorably, prompting, "Shit! _Shit!_" Lily waved wildly for her friends' silence as the voice addressed her once more. "Who is this?"

"I'm err, Lily," she answered awkwardly, shrugging pleadingly toward her friends, who looked between each other curiously. "Lily Evans, but I don't—"

"Look I may or may not be pretty pissed right now," the voice told her matter-of-factly, and, though the late hour might have prompted her to laugh under any other circumstance, the seriousness of being this man's one phone call was not lost on her. "Literally and err also literally. But you know what I mean, piss drunk, right? My mates took me out because of bloody _Emmeline_ and then they ditched me down-town and this cop showed up… Anyway, can you tell them for me? Sirius Black or Remus Lupin or—"

A loud voice cut through the drunken slur, but Lily could only make out words like 'time' 'over' and 'done', through the anguished noise released from the first voice.

"_All right_," the man said curtly, the frustration seeping through each syllable, before turning back to the mouth-piece for his last attempt. "Please, my name is James… call my mate—Sirius Black—for me—"

Suddenly the familiar dial-tone filled Lily's mobile, and she easily pieced together what had happened on the other end of the phone. When she dropped it onto the coffee-table in front of her, she turned to look at her friends, who gaped at her.

"Things like this _never_ happen to me," Lily said, followed by a small 'hah'.

"This is unreal," Marlene responded breathlessly, provoking Mary to nod fervently in agreement. "What are you going to do?"

"Well I have to find this Sirius bloke, don't I?" Lily asked helplessly.

"What's his name? Serious?"

"Sirius Black."

"Hang on," Marlene said, launching herself forward from the couch to reach her own mobile. She impatiently drew her blonde hair out of her eyes as she scrolled through her phone. "Aha! I _knew_ I knew that name. Met that bloke a few weeks ago. He works at that bar down on Fifth. He doesn't live far from here I don't think."

"Well ring him then," Lily prompted eagerly, sitting up straight herself.

"It's nearly two," Marlene said, standing up, suddenly startled by the implications of calling a man this late at night.

"And? If he bar-tends he's used to getting off work at this hour!"

"Do it," Mary encouraged, her smile mischievous.

"Fine. But I'm passing you the phone, Lil." Marlene exhaled before pressing the call button and holding the phone up to her cheek. It rang four times before a gruff voice answered.

"What?"

Taken aback, Marlene sputtered out, "Err hello, is this Sirius Black?"

"Yeah. Who's this?"

"This is Marlene McKinnon, we met a few weeks ago—"

"McKinnon!" Sirius said, recognition softening his voice. "Little late for a pleasant chat, don't you think?"

Marlene laughed nervously, shooting Lily a get-ready look. "Indeed. It's not really a pleasant chat I had in mind. My friend Lily needs to speak with you…hang on, she'll explain…"

"Hi," Lily said, after catching the phone Marlene had tossed to her. "I'm Lily. Your friend James asked me to—"

"James is with you lot?" Sirius interrupted, before his voice left the mouth-piece, "Oi, Moony! Prongs is off with some birds—"

"No, no he's not!" Lily corrected, having not the faintest idea what Moony or Prongs was. "He's called from the jail, he misdialed me by accident."

Sirius' end of the phone stayed silent for a long minute. "What?"

"He said the cops found him down-town, and he misdialed his phone call. It was really dumb luck that Marlene knew who you were, and—"

"Oh _fuck_! Listen, I've got to go. Thanks, err—"

"Lily," she supplied.

"Thanks, Lily," he said, earnestly. "You should come by the bar with McKinnon some time. I'll be there tomorrow night if James doesn't murder me first. But, I have to go."

"Yes, go."

"Okay, yeah."

And without saying goodbye, he hung up. Lily silently handed the phone back to Marlene, and it was then she realized that she had been pacing during the brief conversation. Why she was so worked up about this was beyond her. Sure, prison was not lark, but it seemed like it was a minor incident and James' friends would get it all worked out. But what if he had called anyone but her? What would have happened to him then?

"He's gone down to the prison," Lily told her friends, once she realized they had been staring at her expectantly. "I'm sure everything will be fine."

"Definitely," Marlene assured her, gazing down at her mobile once more, perhaps wistful for a text message.

"He invited us to the bar tomorrow," Lily said, drawing Marlene's eyes back to her. "He said he'll be working… if he is still breathing, mind."

Marlene gave a small chuckle, setting her phone down once more as she stood. "Well let's get to bed then, I'm knackered."

* * *

Though never explicitly stated, when the clock struck eight the following evening, the three girls left their flat for Fifth Street. Adorning their favorite Saturday-night attire, they made their way down three flights of stairs and out onto the buzzing street.

Marlene, though unwilling to admit it, was excited at the prospect of seeing Sirius Black again, now that things had completely fizzled out with her ex-interest Benjy Fenwick. Mary, who always enjoyed an adventure, particularly ones involving her friends and their love-interests, had an inkling that Marlene was feeling this way, and was eager to watch the night's events unfold. Lily told herself she wanted to follow through with the phone call she received late the previous night, and intended to ask Sirius about it over a brew.

They arrived at the cozy pub half an hour later, and Marlene, after checking her reflection in the glass window, led the two girls inside. The air was stale with the lingering stench of pipe tobacco, and a faint trace of spilled beer. Mismatched chairs sat around rounded tables, and different size stools sat beneath the bar. As the door clanged shut, a tall man behind the bar's head snapped in their direction, then smiled upon recognition.

"McKinnon," he called cheerfully, abandoning the patron in front of him to walk to the side of the bar nearest the door.

"Sirius Black," she greeted. Lily admired the balance in her voice as she spoke to Sirius. He might have been the best looking bloke she had ever seen: long black hair fell casually to his shoulders, which were broad. His smile gleamed in the neon lights. "These are my best mates. Mary Macdonald, and Lily Evans, who you spoke with last night."

"Ah, pleasure to meet you both," he said, extending a hand to Mary, before turning to Lily. "I'm glad you came by. Wanted to thank you properly."

"It was nothing," Lily said, offhandedly, momently taken aback by the grey eyes in front of her. "If anything, it's your friend who _should_ be thanking me—"

"I couldn't have said it better myself," a voice said behind her.

She spun around instinctively, her eyes coming level with the man's chest. She closed her mouth on the words she was still saying as she looked at him. The voice was vaguely familiar from the belligerent phone call from the night before, but the face was entirely foreign. His hair seemed purposefully messy, scattered in all directions in a handsome disarray very unlike his friend's. Though similar in build, he carried himself a little taller perhaps, and his eyes were striking, even in the dimmed bar lighting. Maybe Sirius Black _wasn't_ the best looking man she had ever seen.

"I'm James," he said, as if to fill the silence. She cleared her throat as she realized she'd been staring. "We sort of met last night."

"Oh, yes… hi, I'm Lily."

"Well, Lily, I insist you let me buy you a drink as a thank you for last night," James said kindly, gesturing behind her toward the bar. "Anything you'd like."

"That's very kind of you," Lily said, glancing at the beers on tap before gesturing to a lager she hadn't tried before. "Thank you."

James shrugged, grabbing the drink from Sirius and handing it to Lily. As Mary and Marlene ordered their own drinks, James led Lily to a small table near them where his own glass was already sitting. "You don't really need to thank me. I'm charging it to Sirius' account."

Lily laughed, grateful he had told her this fact after she had swallowed the first sip of her beer. "I suppose he owes you that after last night, doesn't he? Prat got you locked away."

"That he did," James said, nodding seriously at her; after a moment his lips twisted into a lopsided smile behind his glass. "But you know, I've always considered myself a lucky bloke."

"Oh?"

"Yes, quite," James said, setting his glass in front of him as he leaned closer to her. She began to realize how fast her heart was racing, as their eyes locked. "'Cause of all the numbers I could've called, I called _you_."

"Me? It was lucky you called me?" Couldn't he hear her heart beat?

"Certainly. I'm here now, aren't I?"

Oh. "Oh, so you mean, you were lucky to find the one person who somehow had a mate who had your mate's number? Yeah, I suppose that's pretty lucky."

James considered her for a moment before his lopsided smile reappeared. "That's very true. And I am eternally grateful you helped this drunk idiot. I'm sure most birds would've hung up quickly, had they answered at all. But that's not the kind of luck I had in mind."

"You're welcome, really, it was no problem," she said calmly, silently cursing herself for not having Marlene's ability to balance her voice. "Though, I'm intrigued, what kind of luck did you have in mind then?"

"Lily, I've had Sirius' mobile number memorized since he got it a decade ago. I'd estimate I've called him hundreds of time by memory, and plenty of times more smashed than I was last night, y'know? So then there I am last night – and I'm not even sure what number I possibly messed up, mind you – and I muck up the number, yeah? And who should answer but the most gorgeous bird in London?"

Lily tore her eyes from his, her cheeks flushing as she nervously thumbed off the condensation on her mug. Despite herself, the edge of her lip twisted upward as she met his eye again, "Yeah, I suppose you're pretty lucky."

James smiled, apparently unabashed by his direct compliment.

"Shall I top that off for you, or were you lot just stopping by?" he asked, gesturing to her nearly finished drink; she could sense the hopefulness in his voice, and her stomach lurched pleasantly.

"I can stay for a while," she told him. She smiled brightly at him as he got to his feet and reached for her glass.

"Same kind?"

"What're you having?"

James laughed, and it was an infectiously joyful sound that she was inclined to join in, even though there was nothing to laugh about. "I'm sticking with water tonight, had enough last night."

"Probably for the best," Lily told him. "I'll take another, yeah. I think could use a little bit of luck tonight."


	2. Axe-Murderer

Axe-Murderer  


**Disclaimer:** Harry Potter and everything related belongs first, and foremost, to JK Rowling, and then to her partnerships with Bloomsbury, Scholastics, Warner Bros., etc.

**Summary:** 'I'm drunk and your car looked a lot like a taxi' au

* * *

Under the pale street lamp she stumbled, her boots nearly catching on the uneven side-walk as she paced back and forth in front of the pub. She had long passed sloshed, now in the annoyingly persistent part of being drunk where she was stuck between wanting her bed and wanting a fight. Though the latter impulse was attributed to Amos, who also shared the blame for most of the drinks she had had. She'd slipped her friends on their way to the loo, and she knew Marlene would be furious but her head was spinning from the lights and lingering smoke and _Amos_ and she needed fresh air.

She stopped pacing near the curb, turning wildly right and left, looking up and down the street, in search of her refuge. To her delight, she found the black taxi just pulling next to the curb on the opposite side of the road and she threw herself forward to claim it before any of the other passersby thought to act. Fortunately her impeccable timing got her to the car-door before the other cars came speeding down the street. Tugging the handle, she flung herself into the back seat, her limbs tangling in her haste.

"Get me out of here," she told the black haired man in the driver's seat. In her stupor, she didn't think twice about how young and unkempt he looked for a taxi driver.

He craned his neck sharply at the sound of her voice, horror enveloping his face as he realized she was there.

"What are you doing in here?" he asked, attempting to keep his voice calm as he shifted his body around.

"What do you mean what am I doing? What's anyone need a taxi for, you loon? I'm pissed and I need to go home!"

The horror in the man's face lessened as comprehension dawned on him. He studied her with bright hazel eyes unhidden behind his wire-rimmed glasses.

"Well that's great and all but I'm not a taxi cab," he told her, the corner of his lips twitching up.

"Why aren't we moving yet?" she whined, through his explanation, then when the words sunk in, "You're not a…what?"

"I'm not a taxi," he repeated. "I can help you flag one down though."

This sobered her up slightly, though more by far than anything else could have. Her face was aflame as she clambered out of the car and onto the sidewalk. The man stretched out his long limbs as he joined her.

"I am _so_ sorry," she sputtered out, embarrassedly. "Your car looks very like a taxi and—"

"No matter," he said, waving her off with his hand. "Are you here alone at this hour? There's some unsavory blokes about, you know."

"Yes. I mean no. I mean, yes I know there are, and no I'm not alone. I was in the pub with Marlene and Mary and Emma, and what's-her-face from accounting. Oh what's her name? I'm right awful, aren't I? She bought me a pint earlier, and I can't even remember—"

"I'm sure her buying you a pint only contributed to the problem," the man joked, much more at ease now that he knew she wasn't alone.

She laughed. "Oh no, probably not."

"So if they're all in the pub, why are you out here with a stranger? I could be an axe-murderer you know."

"You'd still be a sight better to see than Amos and Hestia."

"Who're they?"

"My blighter of an ex-boyfriend, with his new girlfriend. Just showed up at the pub, I think. I hadn't noticed them before anyway. But when Mar needed to use the loo, I spotted them cozy at the far end of the pub and I just had to get out, you know what I mean—err—?"

"I'm James," he supplied, eying her with a delighted curiosity. "And you?"

"I'm Lily. Lily Evans. But you didn't need to know that, as you've indicated you're an axe-murderer. And even though you're not an ex-boyfriend, and seem certainly better than Amos, I think I oughtn't share my information with axe-murderers."

"No, you're right about that one," he said kindly. "Lily, has anyone ever told you, you ramble when you're drunk?"

"I most certainly do _not_ ramble. I assure you I am just the same as when I'm sober, thank you very much."

James stifled his laughter at her indignation, in the off chance she became violent when drinking. He winced simply imagining how the heel of her boots would feel stomped into his toes.

"Well, my sincere apologies. Let's get you a taxi," James suggested, stepping to the edge of the curb and straining to see down the dimly lit street until his attention was drawn to the other side of the road.

"LILY!" a blonde called from the entrance of the pub.

"Oh shit, she found me," Lily muttered to James, evidently horrified. The wide-eyed look she was giving him proved too much and he broke into laughter. "That's Marlene."

"Oh," was all James could say before Marlene marched across the road to them.

"Lily, what are you doing? We turned around for two seconds and you'd gone." Marlene rounded on James instantly, before Lily could speak. "And who are you? You'd better not be trying to take advantage of my mate. Bloody hell, she's sloshed, what kind of bloke are you?"

"Whoa!" James said quickly, holding his hands in front of him as he took a subconscious step back. "I didn't—"

"I hopped into this poor bloke's car, thinking it was a taxi," Lily informed Marlene, unabashed in her drunken state. "His name is Jim—"

"James," he found himself correcting, again as an involuntary reflex.

Marlene pressed her lips together. "Oh, sorry, James. I was worried and I tend to get a little batty when I worry. I'm sure you're a great bloke."

"He's an axe-murderer," Lily piped in again helpfully. Her mind had returned to the foggy state of drunkenness once more as they stood on the sidewalk.

"That was a joke," James explained quickly, shooting Lily a pleading look. "I like to have a lark."

"Interesting sense of humor," was all Marlene said, though her eyebrow hitched up before she turned to Lily. "All right Lils, let's get you home. I didn't realize Amos would be here."

"Blighter," Lily said, draping her arms around Marlene's shoulder as she yawned.

"There's a taxi coming down the road now," James informed them as he stretched his long arm out to flag it down.

"Thank you," Marlene said earnestly, as the taxi came to a stop in front of the curb and she opened the door to let Lily in.

"Sorry for getting into your car, axe-murderer," Lily told James as she closed the car door. Through the glass window Lily watched vaguely aware of a brief conversation Marlene was having with James, but as her main focus was on getting home to her bed, she didn't give it much contemplation.

James only allowed himself a small chuckle at Lily's parting words once he stood alone watching the taillights travel around the corner and out of sight.

* * *

The next morning Lily woke up with a pounding headache and her stomach in nauseated knots. Groaning, she pulled the covers up to her eyes in an attempt to block them from the sun that seeped in through her window.

"Good morning," Marlene said quietly as she entered the room, carrying a tray laden with a large glass of water, some aspirin, and three pieces of toast. "Brought you some breakfast. Though it'd probably be considered lunch by now."

"Ehh," Lily let out, as her form of a hang-over thank-you, and Marlene chuckled softly as she set the tray on Lily's bedside table.

"You're welcome. Also, your phone's lighting up, seems like you have a message or something," Marlene said casually as she backed out of the room, silently closing the door behind her.

Intrigue and a desire for the aspirin drove Lily's face out from under the covers. It certainly wasn't the worst hang-over she'd ever had, although she found herself struggling to remember a worse one. Popping the aspirin into her mouth and taking a small sip of the water, she unlocked her phone with her free hand.

She had two texts from Emma and three from Mary, and then one from a number that wasn't in her phone. Ignoring the messages from her friends, she quickly opened the foreign one.

_Good morning. How are you feeling? This is the axe-murderer, by the way._

Lily stared confusedly at the phone. Axe-murderer? What the hell happened last night? After a few minutes of painstaking thought – through her throbbing headache – she started regaining some of her memory. It came to her quickly that Amos had showed up at the pub, and how much it had bothered her at the time. Then she realized that she left the pub, alone, and got herself a taxi. But where the axe-murderer came in didn't become apparent to her until she remembered that the taxi wasn't a taxi, and that there was a bloke. A tall bloke, with unruly hair, and glasses, and what was his name?

And how had he gotten her number?

**Hi. I'm pretty miserable, though you didn't kill me so there's the silver-lining I suppose.**

Lily lied back on her pillow, her mind blank as she waited for a reply.

_Oh, my mistake. I'm not the proper axe-murdering kind of bloke. I'm the sort of axe-murderer who helps drunken birds get home safely, which I'm glad to see you have. Out of curiosity, do you remember me?_

**Vaguely. It's all coming back to me. And now that we've cleared up your axe-murdering tendencies, tell me, are you also the type of bloke who stalks a bird? I don't think I even knew what my phone number was last night, so I would hardly have been able to give it to you.**

_Evidently, not everything's coming back. I am definitely not the type of bloke to stalk anyone, least of all drunk birds. Your mate Marlene passed me your number last night and said to text you today. And as a man of my word, here are your texts._

"Marlene!" Lily called loudly, which she immediately regretted as the sound of her own voice made her head throb even more.

Lily's door opened a sliver to show the face of her friend. "Yeah?"

"How is it I've gotten a text from an axe-murderer, hmm?"

"Oh he's actually texted you then, has he? Good, at least we know he'll listen," Marlene said approvingly.

"_You gave him my number_?" Lily reiterated.

"Of course I did. I was sober enough to actually have a good _look_ at him. Believe me, if you'd been in a proper mind you'd have wanted him to have your number too. Plus the way he was looking at you sort of required me to give him your number. It's in the Best Mate's Handbook or something."

"What do you mean? The way he was looking at me?"

Marlene shrugged, her lips twitching upward. "Nothing bad, of course. He just looked like he enjoyed being around you. You'd be hard-pressed to find any bloke who can tolerate drunk, babbling Lily as it is, and this bloke did more than just tolerate it."

As Lily looked down to see another text from James on her phone, Marlene took the distraction as an opportunity to silently exit the room again.

_Are you cross? I'm sorry, I don't mean to be a blighter. Clearly you didn't want to hear from me, so I can take a hint. It's one of my better qualities, considering I'm an axe-murderer and all._

Lily found herself smiling – well, grimacing slightly – at the words.

**I'm not cross. I just don't remember too much about last night apart from thinking your car to be a taxi. Which is actually pretty humiliating, especially compounded with how I am when sloshed.**

_Don't worry about it, you were cute. I'm glad you got into my car and not some dodgy fellow's._

**So am I. Thanks for being so kind about it.**

_Kind? For an axe-murderer, you mean._

**Oh yes, that goes without saying. As far as axe-murderers go, you are the most pleasant I've ever met.**

_You do seem like the type to frequently fraternize with axe-murderers._

**Is it that obvious?**

_Nah, I'm just well-trained._

Unsure of what to say next, Lily sat there, nibbling on a piece of toast as the aspirin finally kicked in. Well, at least something was making her feel better. After about ten minutes of her not replying, her phone lit up again.

_Well in case you've forgotten, my name is James. James Potter. I know we don't really know each other too well, but if you'd ever want to meet up or something, I'd like that._

Lily smiled thoughtfully at the phone. Certainly the aspirin was doing wonders now.

**I'd like that, too. Of course, only if you promise to remain as kind an axe-murderer as you have been thus far.**

_I'll do one better than promise: I solemnly swear. Though, despite your frequent fraternizing with axe-murderers, you seem like the kind of bird who might be able to convince me to give it up for good._


	3. Stood Up

Stood Up  


**Disclaimer:** Harry Potter and everything related belongs first, and foremost, to JK Rowling, and then to her partnerships with Bloomsbury, Scholastics, Warner Bros., etc.

**Summary:** 'Both of our dates abandoned us' au

* * *

His fingers strummed impatiently on the table top, his usually relaxed dispositions stiffening as anxiety rose in his features. Weary hazel eyes threw a contemptuous look at his watch, as if it was guilty of causing him misery. Of course that couldn't be further from the truth. Really it was his own fault for getting his hopes up over something Sirius had set up for him. A blind date? Was he stupid?

The small hand on his watch shifted to the six and he let out an exhale, rising from the table to sit at the bar. He slid onto a vacant seat next to a girl with beautiful auburn hair. With his eyes focused forward, he quietly asked the bartender for a double whiskey – grateful he hadn't driven for once.

"Bad night?" the girl asked, teasingly, from his left. He looked around to see her nursing her own whiskey.

"You could say that." He thanked the bartender before downing a large gulp. After exhaling in relief from the alcohol burn, he nodded to her drink. "You too?"

She smiled, tipping her glass in his direction, before muttering, "Indeed," and taking a sip.

"Ah. Well…is this when we exchange horror stories and decide who's had it worse, then? Because mine isn't too thrilling. Just been stood up."

The girl laughed, her loose auburn hair shaking joyfully around her shoulders. And she did not look likely to stop.

"What?" he said, after a torturous moment, his features hardening in defensiveness.

"Nothing, nothing," she assured through her laughter. "It's just… I was, too!"

The man took an inopportune moment to sip his drink, as he nearly choked on it in his own laughter.

"No shit?"

"No shit," she confirmed, smiling a broad smile at him.

"What kind of bloke stands up a bird like you, anyway?"

"A complete tosser, of course. How'd you scare yours off?"

"My mate set up a blind date. Though I wouldn't be surprised if he told one of us the wrong day."

"Yeah all right, keep telling yourself that so you'll feel better about being stood up."

He held a hand to his heart in mock-chagrin. "You _wound_ me."

"No moreso than your lovely date. You looked pretty crushed coming over here to get sloshed. Was she that good-looking?"

He shrugged, "No idea. That's why they call it a blind date, yeah? And I am _not_ wounded by my date not showing up."

"Sure," she placated, her eyes returning to her drink as she finished it, with a satisfied slam on the counter.

He cocked an eyebrow at her, "You don't look too thrilled to have been stood up either."

She met his challenging eyebrow with a broader smirk. "Oh yes, I am terribly devastated to not have to sit through dinner with a bloke who would spend half the time talking about his boring financial position and the other half going on about how great his dog is."

"Oy there!" the man scoffed, "_I_ work in finance, and I take offense to that. Though I am more of a cat person myself."

The women laughed, unabashed by her insult. "Sorry, you don't seem terribly boring, if that makes up for it. You appear to be getting wounded by women frequently tonight."

"Apology _not_ accepted," the man said laughing, before finishing his own drink.

"Having another?"

"Don't think you can buy my forgiveness with liquor. Though you could always _try_ to, anyway."

The women found herself stifling another laugh as the bartender came around to them. After she ordered them both whiskey she turned back to him. "So Mister-terribly-sensitive-finance man, what's your name?"

The man grinned, "James. And yours?"

"I'm Lily," she replied, holding her hand out to him. "Pleasure."

"The pleasure is mine…especially if you keep buying me drinks."

Lily laughed, now turned in her seat to face him – he noticed her eyes were an emerald color, unlike any he'd ever seen before. "Keep buying you drinks, am I? And what do I get out of this arrangement?"

James grinned mischievously back at her, "Well now Lily, I'll need dinner before anything like _that_ happens."

She laughed, playfully swatting at his arm. "You don't seem like the type to make a girl pay for dinner."

As her hand lingered on his forearm, his smirk became a smile. "No, you're right about that. D'you fancy moving this to a table for dinner? I'll keep the boring finance talk to a minimum."

She smiled thoughtfully back at him. "Are you hijacking my ruined date, James?"

He held a hand out to help her off the barstool. "'Course. I'm not an idiot like the bloke who stood you up. Are you interested?"

She allowed him to lead her to the small table he had recently vacated and smiled thankfully at him when he pulled a chair out for her. "I suppose. I don't want to think about how beat-up you'd be if you got rejected _twice_ tonight," she told him teasingly.

He cocked an eyebrow at her over his menu before casually telling her, "That'll be a double, then."

Lily lips pursed in confusion, "A double?"

"Yeah, a double whiskey to make up for that comment, I think."

Lily laughed, "You know, you're not the usual type of bloke I date, James."

"Why's that? The blokes you usually date not as handsome as me?"

"Oh no, more handsome, undoubtedly," she deadpanned, studying her own menu to keep her face straight, "They're just typically not as sensitive."

James laughed, "Well you're not the kind of girl I usually go out with, either."

"Why, because I'm _real_?"

James glared at her mockingly, "No, because you've got wit. Most birds can't keep up with me, you know."

"Oh, wow. So you've gone from dating girls who can't keep up with you, to dating a girl _you_ can't keep up with. Must be a striking change," Lily teased, raising a challenging eyebrow at him.

"Lily," James interrupted, his face set and serious now. Lily's face softened as their eyes locked properly for the first time, the swirling of green and brown in his eyes now clear. "I'd very much like to kiss you right now."

"Err, before appetizers?" she mumbled weakly, suddenly losing her wit under his hard, intense stare.

But any further words evaporated from her mind as James leaned across the table toward her. His eyes stayed locked on hers, until she found her eyes stray down to his lips, which parted ever so slightly in a smirk. Finally when his lips were just centimeters away from hers, her eyes shut of their own accord.

She could feel his words on her lips, "I suppose I can wait until after appetizers." And when she opened her eyes again, he had sat back down in his chair.

Unable to speak, she picked her menu back up and nodded.

"Guess I can keep up with you all right," James said quietly, reading through his own menu, and Lily looked up to see a giant smirk on his face.

"Uh huh," was all she said, before hiding her face behind her menu again, her own smile broad. She couldn't help but think no-one should ever be this pleased to have been stood up.


	4. Rings

Rings

**Disclaimer:** Harry Potter and everything related belongs first, and foremost, to JK Rowling, and then to her partnerships with Bloomsbury, Scholastics, Warner Bros., etc.

**Summary:** Muggle bar AU

* * *

The stench of tobacco lingered in a hazy invisible fog over the patrons of the pub. Poor Paul's Tavern, as it were, tucked in the corner of a cozy street in London. It was one of Lily's favorite places to go, one of the places she frequented as a student at University, and she couldn't help but fall for the nostalgia of it even being four years removed from school. Her best friends, Marlene and Mary, who had roomed with her since their school days, shared in her sentiment but not as strongly. Poor Paul's was, in a way, one of her second homes, not because she habitually drank the older burly patrons under the table (though she had _tried_ once, with little success) but because it was a comfortable atmosphere, where all the bar-keeps were kind – it felt _safe_.

On this particular night, a Saturday in early November, the pub was as busy as she had ever seen it, and when she and her friends arrived, they luckily found three barstools unoccupied and seized them with the same fervor they once did in their youth. Two rounds in, the girls were feeling very good, swaying slightly back and forth to the music coming from the juke box in the center of the bar. In her distraction, it took Lily a little longer than it typically would have for her to notice a set of eyes watching her. She swiveled around on the stool to look over her right shoulder.

The man was sitting at one of the coveted booths in the pub, long enough to seat eight or nine people, but was currently only being used by four men. They lounged back, taking casual drinks from their frosted mugs, and the one at the end – the one who had been looking at her – turned immediately back toward his friends when her eyes fell to him. His hair was long and dark, even under the pale glow emitting from the low-hanging bar lights. It reached to about his shoulder, with an elegance that none of his friends seemed capable of. She gave the rest of the lot a dispassionate look-over before turning back around in her seat.

"What was that?" Marlene asked her, and Lily realized there was a slight edge to her voice.

"Nothing. I thought that bloke was looking over at me, is all."

"He _was_ looking over at you," Marlene informed her, as if she were an idiot. "Not really your type though, is he?"

"Not typically," Lily agreed, nodding. "_Don't look_!" she added hastily as Mary, who was sitting to her left, looked toward him.

"He's looking again," Mary told her, a laugh in her voice.

This time both Marlene and Lily turned in their seats to cast looks toward the man, who again turned away once Lily caught his eye. She rolled her eyes to the ceiling before repositioning herself facing the bar, and then noticed Marlene's haughty look.

"You've been eyeing him, haven't you?" Lily asked casually.

Marlene shrugged, "Doesn't seem to matter, does it? He's got eyes for you apparently."

"Now don't be like that, Mar—"

"Like _what_—?"

"He's coming over here!" Mary informed them in a hurried whisper.

Lily and Marlene dropped their argument quickly, but didn't bother turning around. Though they didn't need to because a moment later, the man was behind them, standing between Marlene and Lily. He tapped Lily softly on the shoulder.

"'Scuse me," he said, his voice pleasantly deep. "D'you mind?"

"Mind _what_?" Marlene asked despite herself, tossing her blonde hair over her shoulder as she swung around to look at the man. He was startling handsome, Lily thought, although certainly not her type. And certainly Marlene's type, she realized now once she got a proper look at him.

The man raised a questioning eyebrow at her, his lips twitching upward as though he was about to smirk. "As the bar is packed and they aren't frequenting the tables, I was hoping you'd let me get my order in over here."

Lily eyed the man as Marlene nearly exhaled in relief, "So _that's_ why you were looking over here, was it?"

"Yeah, of course," the man answered, still casual. When Marlene moved her stool over a few inches, he stepped in between her and Lily and leaned across the bar.

The girls remained silent in the few minutes it took the man to get the bartenders attention and order his drinks. When the bartender came back with four large mugs of lager, the man threw a look over his shoulder, "Oy, James!"

Though not particularly interested in the man or his friends, Lily found herself looking to where the man had yelled. Another man, a few inches taller than the first perhaps, disentangled himself from the booth he was sitting in and came over to his friend. James, as it were, had a mop of similarly dark hair, but it sat in a happy disarray above his head, with a few long strands covering the frame of his glasses near his ears. He gave the first man a quick smirk before he reached them.

"I've already told you, it's _your_ turn to get the round, Sirius."

"Yeah, yeah. Just give a hand with the glasses, all right? I'd hate to spill them over these lovely ladies."

"Ah, of course. Always the perfect gentleman."

"One of us has to be, yeah?" the first man said smugly to his friend, as he handed two of the glasses over. Procuring the other two, and turning on his heel, he sent a last comment to the girls. "I thank you for your hospitality."

"No problem," Marlene answered quickly, sending Sirius a small smirk of her own in response. His eyes lingered on her for a moment before he headed back to his own table. Marlene forced herself to not watch him go, despite her obvious desire to do so, and turned back to Lily. "So he's not interested in you."

"No, evidently, he is not," Lily agreed, smirking behind her own raised glass.

"Nor does he seem interested in you," Mary added helpfully, prompting Lily to laugh and Marlene to scowl. "Oh come off it, he gave you a nice look over when you weren't paying attention, Mar."

"Did he?" Marlene asked, trying to appear casual and utterly failing. "Well, it makes no difference. He didn't even talk to us."

"I wouldn't worry about it," Mary said, wisely. "He knows where to find you. Or better yet, you know where to find _him_."

"I do _not_ chase blokes," Marlene told her, defiantly raising her nose in the air as she did. Mary and Lily both laughed, finishing up their drinks and looking around eagerly for the bartender to come back to their side of the bar. "What's that?"

Lily looked around at Marlene's sudden question. Her eyes followed Marlene's point toward the bar, where a set of keys were sitting. Lily picked them up gingerly, holding them aloft for both Mary and Marlene to see.

"Those aren't yours, are they?"

"No," Lily answered, inspecting them further. "Looks like a set of apartment keys and…and… oh bother."

"What?"

Lily's face split into a grin as she looked at Marlene. "Motorbike keys."

Marlene sighed heavily, her head drooping down as she groaned. "_He has a motorbike_?!"

Lily and Mary laughed heartily, to the point where Mary was clutching her side by the end. Lily herself was in near stitches when Marlene looked up at them horrified.

"Why don't you go give them do him?" Lily offered. "Have a nice chat about the bike."

"No, I couldn't. You go."

"Me?"

"Yes, please, Lily. He's the best looking bloke I have ever seen _and he has a motorbike_."

"Yes, yes, we get it," Mary placated, through her continuing laughter. "You may as well go, Lily, not going to sway her, I don't think."

"All right," Lily agreed begrudgingly, swinging around on her stool before hopping off. She suddenly felt light-headed as the alcohol took effect. Luckily she was only tipsy, and she steadied herself quickly before walking over to the booth where the men still were.

They were laughing loudly as she arrived, and the first to spot her was the one with glasses – James – and his laughter died instantly at her approach.

"Hello," she said, drawing the attention of the other boys now. "Sirius, was it?"

"That's me," Sirius answered before throwing a startled look over to James. Lily wasn't sober enough to wonder why Sirius and James were staring determinedly at each other, and, as it were, she didn't much care.

"You don't happen to drive a motorbike, do you?"

"Err…yes, I do actually," Sirius said in a strained voice. James might have been burning him with his glare, but Lily didn't notice.

"Then these'll be yours then," Lily said kindly, holding the keys in front of her – from the height difference of her standing position and his seated one, the keys dangled in front of his face. His grey eyes softened instantly. "You left them at the bar."

"Brilliant," Sirius breathed, as she dropped the keys into his hand. "Thank you very much, err..."

"Lily."

"Thanks, Lily," Sirius reiterated, a genuine smile now. "Why don't you join us? We have plenty of room, don't we, lads?"

Lily finally looked around at the other boys with him – a sandy haired one, and a chubbier mousy haired one, before her eyes went back to the one sitting directly next to him. He was smiling tentatively at her, and she found she rather liked it.

"Me and my mates, you mean?"

"Of course. Think I'd let you over here if you didn't bring that leggy blonde with you?" Sirius asked coyly, his eyes going past her to look at Marlene, successfully swaying Lily's decision. Marlene would absolutely kill her if she didn't accept the offer.

"All right, I'll send them 'round while I go get us some more drinks," Lily said, pivoting back toward the bar.

Marlene's reaction to the invitation did not disappoint, and she didn't even wait for Lily to order the new drinks before she pulled Mary to the booth. Lily sighed, propping herself back on the stool as she waited for the bartender to come around. Then abruptly, the messy-haired James slipped onto the stool to her left.

"Hello," he said casually, his smile lopsided. "We didn't properly meet. I'm James."

He extended a hand out to her which she graciously accepted.

"It's Lily. You didn't have to go out of your way for introductions, you know? I'll be along to the table—"

"Oh," James said lamely, his hand shooting up to his messy hair. He ruffled his hand through it three times before clearing his throat. "Yeah, of course. I just thought I'd give you a hand with the drinks if you needed one."

"Oh? And here I thought Sirius was the gentleman of the group."

"He likes to pretend, yeah," James told her seriously, causing her to laugh. "We go along with it so he feels important."

Lily laughed even harder. "That's very kind of you. I think."

"It is," James confirmed, letting out a laugh himself. "So Lily—"

"Wait, before you go on," Lily interrupted, the liquid courage bubbling in her stomach. "_Was_ Sirius looking over at us for a reason? The truth, if you would, kind gentleman."

James exhaled, brushing his hand into his hair again – a nervous tick? Lily wondered – as if deciding on something.

"The truth?" Lily nodded, giving what she hoped would be an encouraging smile. "The truth is, yeah. Sirius was looking at you lot."

"At Marlene? The leggy blonde?" she clarified.

"Not exactly, though I doubt he minded seeing her."

"What then? Marlene thought he was looking at me, actually."

"That's because he was," James told her, apparently against his better judgment. "He's my best mate, you know?"

Lily looked at him in confusion for a moment, the beer fogging up her brain to the point where his comment hardly made sense. So what if they were best mates? What do best mates do anyway—oh, _oh._ Lily felt her cheeks flush as realization hit her.

"Oh," was all her brilliant mind could think of saying. James' face deflated at her lack of response. "So you…? At me, then?"

"Yes… I think?" James responded uncertainly.

"So then you came over here to by me a drink?" Lily asked, with sudden confidence, a coy smile on her face. "Being a gentleman and all?"

"Certainly," James agreed, his face transformed from the frown to a broad smile now. A rather handsome smile, directed pointedly at her.

"All right, I'll let you buy me a drink on one condition."

"You get to make a condition for _me_ spending money on _you_?"

"Certainly," Lily mimicked, causing James to shake his head through his laughter.

"Go on then, what's the condition?"

"What was the real reason Sirius came over to the bar? They regularly go 'round to the booths asking for orders, but he said he needed to order from here." James watched her with a blank face as she recounted her findings to him. "I'm going to need a few more drinks before something like _that_ goes unnoticed. So what was it? What'd he come over for?"

"Ah," he said quietly in response, looking around the bar for the bartender as if hoping for a distraction. Lily enjoyed watching him squirm uncomfortably, and her laugh brought his eyes back to hers. In the deadlock, she realized how bright the green was surrounded by the brown. Hazel eyes were her weakness, and apparently emerald ones were his. "Rings," he said suddenly, as if compelled by their stares.

"Rings?" she asked, her brow now furrowed in confusion.

"He was looking for a _ring_," he told her again, nodding toward her left hand that was resting near his right on the bar-top.

She paused as these words sunk in. When he began looking at her apprehensively, she couldn't help but smile. "I see. Well…you've since come to realize that there is no ring, have you?" she asked teasingly, waggling her left hand in his direction.

"Indeed, no bloody ring," he affirmed, his grin matching her own. "How about that drink, then? You know, in celebration of me being a gentleman and you being ring-less."

Lily laughed, "Yeah, all right. _We_ might as well celebrate me being ring-less, because my mother certainly doesn't."

James barely stopped laughing in time to give the amused bartender their order. After catching his eye, Lily's permanently smiling face casted a happy look around the bar as she swayed again to the music. Poor Paul's Tavern really was one of her favorite places.


	5. Single-but-Proud

Single-but-Proud

**Disclaimer:** Harry Potter and everything related belongs first, and foremost, to JK Rowling, and then to her partnerships with Bloomsbury, Scholastics, Warner Bros., etc.

**Summary:** Muggle AU He's a hopeless romantic and she's single-but-proud (at least, for now)

* * *

Lily, not bothering to look up from the crossword in front of her, heard the clinking bell of the shop door and immediately recited, "Welcome to Fortescue's Flowers and More. Select sweets are on a half-off post-Valentine's Day special."

For someone like Lily, who held little time or desire for a boyfriend with her busy University schedule, it was bad enough to have to work at a sweets shop around Valentine's Day, but even worse _after_ Valentine's Day. She'd lost count of the number of stories she heard from ex-boyfriends who had messed up the holiday the first go around and were desperate for advice on how to make it up to their former sweethearts. She'd already had two so far today and knew she couldn't handle another before lunch.

"Which sweets?" the new customer asked, and it was then Lily noticed he had approached the counter. Even from the few feet back his shadow loomed over her crossword puzzle. She sighed, placing her pencil down.

"Everything on that rack over there," she instructed, pointing to her right, purposefully avoiding looking at the bloke in front of her. She saddled over to the case of sweets just to her left and slid open the door. Reaching in, she jostled the trays, indicating their sale prices. Once she finished, she looked up at the bloke. He was tall, and quite lanky, with a dark mop of hair and rectangular framed glasses. He had striking green in his hazel eyes, and he was dangerously close to smirking. Lily's eyebrows furrowed, "Let me know if I can help you with anything."

"Thanks, I will," the bloke spoke, fully grinning now.

Lily ignored him. Avoiding his gaze, she sauntered back over to the crossword puzzle and tried to find where she had left off. She could feel his eyes on her, and sighed. His shadow again covered the counter, and she gazed up expectantly.

"Yes? Sir?" she added, once remembering she was required to be pleasant. She would be in for enough trouble should her manager find out about the puzzle – a customer complaint would push her over the edge. And for all its faults, she _needed_ this job. "Can I…err…get anything for you?"

"Just browsing," he said pleasantly, not moving from his spot directly in front of her.

Blimey, didn't this bloke understand that she was _tired_? "Well, what'll it be then? Are you another bloke who's gone and messed up Valentine's Day? You'd be the third today, and if you badger me about it, I'm just going to sell you the same generic rubbish I sold the last two blokes so I wouldn't bother asking me for advice." Her voice rambled off, something akin to, 'you blokes need to use your brains for once' when she noticed the grin on the bloke's face remained.

"My Valentine's Day was rather uneventful, but I'd very much like to hear what happened during _yours_, and also where you've buried the body."

His tone was light, and almost shocked a laugh out of Lily, as she watched him finally edge away from the counter to study some of the nearby stuffed bears.

"I don't celebrate Valentine's Day," she said off-handedly, folding her crossword closed before beginning to wipe down the counter.

"You don't?" the boy asked, in a tone of mock surprised. "I'd never have guessed, with your charming attitude."

Lily laughed, but there was little mirth in the sound, "And what does that make you, then? A hopeless romantic? You don't look the type, but I suppose I can see it now."

"The type?"

"Oh yes. The type of bloke who puts days into planning the perfect Valentine's Day, because the bird he's dating is _lovely_. She doesn't even need to drop hints about it, that's how good you are."

The boy laughed, too, but there was unmistakable joy in his that she did not expect. He was clearly enjoying their banter, though she couldn't think _why_. "You know," he began, turning from the stuffed bears to study the sets of left-over Valentine's cards. "I am the hopeless romantic type. Don't go telling my mates that – they'd tear the mickey out of me if they knew I'd admit to it. But yeah, I suppose it's true. Haven't found the right Valentine, mind. But there are plenty of birds…err… in the sky."

Lily laughed, "Clever, that."

"Got you to laugh, didn't I?" he goaded, and she could tell even from looking at his back that he was smirking again.

"Yeah, all right," she ceded, having nothing else to add. "Like I said before, if you need any help, let me know."

She pretended not to watch as he set down the box of Valentine's and looked to his watch. "I've got to go – didn't realize it was so close to lunch, and I've got class later." He turned to look at her, but she had already reopened the crossword. "Sorry you didn't get a sale today, Miss hopeless-_un_romantic."

He was halfway to the door when he heard her call, "We prefer Single-but-Proud, thanks."

The bell clinked happily behind him, and she watched him tighten his coat around him as he stepped onto the street. She didn't think much of it at the time, but reflected later that her mood improved so significantly that, over the rest of her shift, she wasn't short with any of the next three blokes who came in desperate for her help.

The following days she worked were uneventful, as they often became as time went on from Valentine's Day. The bustle of normal business came in its usual waves of people shopping for anniversaries, birthdays, parties, funerals – all occasions someone might need flowers or sweets or cute trinkets. On the fourth day succeeding her cheeky visitor, Lily was finishing inflating a large latex birthday balloon for a first year university student when the bell clanked again.

She called over her shoulder, "Welcome to Fortescue's Flowers and More. I'll be with you in a mo'."

"Take your time, Miss Single-but-Proud."

In her surprise, she almost let go of the balloon, but thankfully held on just as it finished inflating. She worked to keep the smile from her face as she turned to hand the balloon to the student.

"There you are. Have a nice day, and thanks for thinking of us," she recited, before watching the student walk off with the balloon.

Once the door closed noisily behind the student, she realized that she was again alone with the hopeless romantic who'd once brightened her day. For some reason her stomach fluttered nervously, but she straightened her face as she turned to look at him.

"Back again, hopeless romantic?"

He smirked broadly at her, coming out from between the selves to approach her. "It's magnetism, I swear. Can't have this many flowers and sweets and cards and expect a bloke like me to not frequent."

"I've never noticed you before the other day, but I wouldn't be surprised if you told me you come here at least twice a week. Though I think you're going about this all wrong."

"Am I?"

"Certainly," Lily answered easily, tidying the shelf of stuffed bears in an attempt to keep her hands busy. "You see, most blokes go places to get a bird first. Then they are required to come here and get the roses and balloons and boxes of chocolates. If you go to the pub and get a bird, then when you come here you can waste time _and _money, instead of just time."

Hopeless Romantic laughed, and it was even better than she had remembered it – though she didn't quite remember committing it to memory. "They should let you write the adverts for this place. You'd be out of business in a week. Tell me, how did you trick them into hiring you? I'm graduating next year, and I could use the interview advice."

She tried to not think about how she, too, was graduating next year. Had they been in classes together at the university? "Did you ever stop to think that perhaps I didn't always feel this way?" she muttered, her voice slightly cool.

The coolness seemed to intrigue instead of bother him. "Ah, so there it is. Miss Single-but-Proud was once not so. That's a real tragedy, that. Shakespeare'd probably be inspired by your story. Beautiful bird becomes cynical after bad relationship – a literary masterpiece if I've ever heard of one."

Lily scoffed, tearing her hands from the shelf, and she turned to glare at him. She ignored the 'beautiful bird' comment, though barely. "You'd better get on with writing it then, hadn't you? A brilliant bit of fantasy that would be."

She turned on her heel and marched to the counter, as if it were a safe place to hide behind.

He followed her in earnest. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. Thought we were just doing a bit."

Lily shrugged, composed. "It's fine. I've had bad luck in the past, but who hasn't? I'm too busy with university to worry about it. But even if I weren't… You're probably right. I'm a hopeless _un_romantic."

She finally looked up when his shadow eclipsed the counter. "Well hopeless unromantic, it's nice to meet you. Didn't get to formally introduce myself last time I was in, but I'm James."

He held out his hand and she hesitantly reached out to take it. "I'm Lily."

"Lily," he repeated as their hands dropped. "Not a bad name, though I'm rather fond of Single-but-Proud… For now anyway."

She opened her mouth to inquire, but he swung around to grab a bar of chocolate off the shelf nearest them, and set it on the counter. With deft hands, he drew his wallet and placed the money in her own hand.

"What did you mean? 'For now anyway'?" she questioned, handing him back his change.

"Certainly Single-but-Proud suits you right now," he began, grinning. "But it won't…say, in a few months when you are my girlfriend." Her mouth fell open, but he was already backpedaling toward the door. "The chocolate is for you, by the way. Sorry, but the hopeless romantic in me couldn't help it."

He threw her one last grin after the door closed behind him, and she watched him go, smiling. Perhaps a little romance in her life wouldn't be _so_ terrible.


	6. Damsel

Damsel

**Disclaimer:** Harry Potter and everything related belongs first, and foremost, to JK Rowling, and then to her partnerships with Bloomsbury, Scholastics, Warner Bros., etc.

**Summary:** Jily Muggle AU: "I don't know you but I also know nothing about camping and you're the only other person I've seen here will you help me I think I heard a bear"

**Posted:** 04/09/15

* * *

To say Lily Evans knew nothing about camping wouldn't be _entirely_ accurate. She knew that bringing enough supplies would ensure not having to hunt for things – so loading up her rucksack with dry foods and multiple water bottles seemed reasonable at the time. She also knew she was _absolutely_ _not_ going anywhere near a wooded area without toilet paper, and she felt very pleased with herself for thinking about that without Google's help, thank-you-very-much. And lastly, though she knew her friends would also be accompanying her and bringing their own share of blankets and sleeping bags, she couldn't rationalize not bringing an extra two along. (And she knew she didn't need to, but still found herself cramming a handful of extra pairs of underwear in the corner pocket of her pack.)

Camping was not her thing, but deep down she hoped that was more to do with her having never gone before, rather than her ineptitude. Thus, it was with fervor that she tied her hair in a high ponytail, strapped on her water-resistant boots (not entirely stylish, but camping wasn't about fashion, right?) and zipped up a green knee-length jacket that she was confident would _swoosh_ when wet, though the salesman guaranteed it would leave her dry anyway. Tossing her rucksack in the back of her old clunker, she followed Mary's scribbled directions to the parking lot near the camp ground they were supposed to meet at.

When she arrived, there was only one other car in the lot, but she didn't think much of it. Mary, Marlene, Amelia and Amelia's brother Edgar, were all caravanning to the camp-site together, and she suspected one of them was elongating the process. On the backside of Mary's note, she had doodled a rough sketch of the camp ground area, and Lily hitched her rucksack over her back and followed its barely-legible directions.

The walk took nearly thirty minutes, with Lily pausing every so often to study some of the flowers along the trail's edge, and a few times becoming distracted by the sound of rustling leaves. There was no mistaking the campsite once she got there – there were bushes and large trees surrounding the area, but the area itself was bare enough to indicate people often set up tents and built fires there. Pulling the bag off her shoulder, she sat down on a tree stump and waited. Knowing her mobile phone would be no use, she left it locked in her car, and had therefore thought to bring a digital watch.

By the time two hours had passed without the arrival of any of her friends, Lily became worried. It didn't take long for her worrying to transform into fear – fear not for her friends, but fear for herself. The forest was growing darker. Though the sun was still a few hours from setting completely, the lush trees were beginning to block out the rays, and the tiny strips of light that were still lining the forest floor were unsettling in themselves. The leaves around her continued to rustle, barely heard over the sound of her rumbling stomach. Unfortunately she had packed the food and water under the piles of clothing and blankets and so she sat still on the tree stump, growing hungrier and hungrier.

Suddenly, her hunger was driven from her mind by the sound of a large thud from somewhere behind her. Without even thinking, she grabbed her rucksack and ran further down the path, deeper into the forest. She sprinted past the next two campsites when a stitch appeared sharply in her side, and her pace slowed. As she approached the next campsite at a brisk, gasping walk, she noticed there was a boy there, kindling a fire.

He looked familiar, though it took her a moment to place where. The few times Lily had ventured over to the business building at university, to meet Mary after classes, she had seen him. He drew her attention mostly because he was typically surrounded by three or more other students, and usually there was raucous laughter. As Lily drew closer and stepped on a large twig, the boy's face shot up and Lily was assured that he definitely was someone she had seen before.

"Hi," she panted out, daring to half smile at him. "Sorry to startle you. I just… I've been… Ooh, sorry. Gimme a mo'."

The boy looked at her curiously, straightening up and stuffing his hands in his pocket. He wore a long-sleeved checkered shirt, covered with an unzipped, grey camping vest, long blue jeans and large boots. Near his tent he had laid down a worn black rucksack, and blanket where he had stacked some pots and plates. Lily stood there awkwardly, her hands pressed on her knees as she caught her breath.

"Are you all right?" the boy called to her after a moment, though he didn't appear eager to move closer to her.

"Yes," she answered, standing up straighter. "I just heard a noise, and went running, and _bollocks_, I am out of shape." She gave a half laugh which he reciprocated awkwardly. "I'm sorry. I don't know anything about camping, and my friends haven't shown up yet. And then I heard a loud noise and took off…"

"So you're alone… And you decided to come out into the woods, knowing nothing about camping?" the boy asked skeptically, his eyebrow arching high above his rectangular glasses.

"_You're_ alone," Lily said, defensively, having understood the boy's tone.

"Yes, but I know what I'm doing," he answered, and she was surprised that his voice was pompous in his proclamation. "Whereas you look like one of those models in the Outdoorsman catalogues."

Unwanted blush rose to Lily's cheeks as she straightened her jacket. "What do you know? I might be an excellent outdoors… woman. I want to be good at camping, I just need to learn."

"Okay, then. Come over here and I'll show you how to manage a fire," the boy said, his tone now bright and accommodating, which took Lily by surprise. "Or, I can walk you back to your car and you can go home and order take-out, and your biggest problem will be which telly channel to watch. But you'd better make up your mind now because we've only got about an hour before the sunset."

Lily's mouth dropped open, but the boy had gone back to stoking the fire. Closing her mouth and picking up her rucksack once more, she hesitantly walked over to him. If her father could see her now – in the middle of the woods with a boy she didn't know… _Please don't be an axe-murderer_, Lily thought to herself as she approached him. He looked up at the sound of her approaching footsteps, and smiled lopsidedly at her.

"So what's your name?" the boy asked, before gesturing to a small fold-up chair next to the fire.

"Lily."

"I'm James," he answered, without prompting. "You're friends with Mary Macdonald, aren't you? We worked on a project in Financial Management II last year."

Lily nodded, and then the memory of Mary having to cancel on dinner plans a few times last semester because she had a major project to work on came flooding back to mind. Her partner's name _was_ James, come to think of it. "Yeah, she was actually supposed to be one of the friends I'm camping with this weekend."

"Ah. She didn't seem to be the camping type," James commented. "Are they running late, or something?"

"Not sure… Haven't heard from them."

James' eyebrow arched again as he got up from the chair he was sitting on. He walked over to his rucksack and pulled a mobile phone out of its pocket. After the phone powered on, he handed it to Lily, who took it hesitantly. "Give her a call. I have a signal booster that should create a clear enough signal for you."

"Err thanks," Lily said, before scrolling down and finding Mary Macdonald under the M's. Relief flushed over her as she pushed the call button.

After a few rings, Mary's uncertain voice answered, "Err…hello?"

"Mary? Can you hear me? It's Lily."

"Lily? Lily, what on earth? This number belongs –"

"To James, yes. Where are you, Mary? I've been waiting at the campsite for hours."

"Oh Lily! I've tried to call you about a hundred times. We had to take Marlene's car to the shop. It should be ready tomorrow morning but we can't make it out there tonight."

"But I'm already _here_!"

"I'm so sorry," Mary said, and she sounded it. "I can't believe James is there. Can I talk to him?"

"What? Err… yeah. Hang on." Lily looked over at James, who was barely holding the grin off his face. "She wants to speak with you."

"Okay," he agreed, taking the phone from Lily's hand. "Hey M-squared… Yeah, yeah, been a while, hasn't it? Why didn't you… Oh. Okay. Yes, all right. Don't you worry about her. Okay, we'll see you tomorrow morning. The lads are coming 'round then, too. Uh… knowing them, they'll probably get here around ten…. Don't you worry, M-squared, I'll be the perfect gentleman – hey no need to laugh. All right, you're wasting my battery. I'm hanging up now… 'Bye."

James laughed, powering his phone off again, before turning to Lily. "Looks like you're bunking here for the night. Mary will be here tomorrow morning, but for tonight you're just going to have to put up with me."

Lily looked at him, her eyes wide as she considered him, but what other option did she have? And at least she knew Mary knew James, and must have trusted him to have no reservations for Lily spending an entire evening in the woods alone with him. Lily's stomach rumbled its assent at the idea, and Lily forced her own nod.

"Okay, then. What's first?"

"Let's unpack your bag and get you settled in. Did you bring a tent?" Lily shook her head. "How were you expecting to sleep in the woods without a tent, Damsel?"

Lily pointed ignored his nickname. "Mary has a tent… I think, anyway. I did bring a sleeping bag though!"

James smiled in response as Lily got up and undid her bag before struggling to pull out the tangled mess of sleeping bags and blankets. After settling the sleep bags and blankets down on the ground near the foot of the tent, Lily dove back in her bag for a water bottle and a package of crackers.

"Want one?" she added, after standing up straight. "I brought a lot."

"No thanks," James said, kindly, getting up himself and disappearing into his tent. A moment later he came out with a big red cooler. "Do you like burgers?"

Lily's stomach roared triumphantly.

* * *

The evening faded into night-time, and the flames of the fire that danced in the slight breeze provided the only light for James and Lily as they finished cleaning up after dinner. James tried to focus on his mental check-list for camping, but kept finding himself distracted by the way the firelight reflected off of Lily's eyes.

"Do you camp a lot?" Lily asked after a while. James had shown her most of his gear and explained how to build his tent and start a fire.

"We camp as much as we can."

"We? The lads you mentioned earlier, yeah?"

"Yeah," James confirmed, nodding. "I have a couple close mates who love to camp. We've actually been camping together since grade's school."

"Why aren't they here now?"

"They had to work tonight, and I was able to get the night off, so I decided to come out a day early. We take whatever opportunities we get during the semester. Anyway, what about you? What's your story, Damsel?"

Lily smirked at the fire, less bothered by the nickname as the evening went on. "Not much to say. In my third year of university, trying to expand my horizons, you know? I spend a lot of time reading and studying… You would probably say I'm rather boring."

"Never," James said, before catching her eye. Their glances lingered for a long moment before the both turned away. James cleared his throat, standing. "We should get your sleeping bag set up. Here, I'll show you how to get it down evenly in the tent."

Lily followed James into the large tent; it was wide enough to accommodate three sleeping bags, though both had to stoop their heads to stand. Lily watched as James moved gracefully around the tent, despite being nearly doubled over. She listened with the intent to learn, but found herself distracted by the lithe way his hands moved the cloth around.

"Not too difficult?" he asked after a moment, and Lily agreed instantly, before watching James walk over to his own sleeping bag and pull it from the ground. "I'll leave you to it, then."

"Wait, what are you doing?" Lily inquired, fully brought into the present now.

"I'm going to sleep outside?" James said, though it sounded more like a question than a statement. "I'll pass you your rucksack so you can get ready for bed."

"You're going to sleep outside? But there's plenty of room in here!"

James cleared his throat, a hand shooting into his hair, combing over the back which was standing up in disarray. "Yeah, I know… I just… It's the proper thing to do."

"I feel terrible," Lily said, following James out of the tent. "You've been nothing but kind and now you're giving up your tent. Needlessly, I might add."

But James shook his head, clearing the spot next to the tent and lying his sleeping back down with ease. "Have the tent, Damsel. I'll be right outside if you need me."

_This boy_, Lily thought to herself as she sat down on her sleeping bag. The dim light of the fire silhouetted him against the side of the tent, and she watched him sit, with his arms around his knees until sleep overcame her.

* * *

Lily awoke slowly, to birds chirping, and the slight sound of wind lapping the tent zipper against the entrance. As her eyes grew accustom to the growing brightness of the tent, laughter met her ears. Stretching quietly, she quickly crawled to the edge of the tent and popped her head out.

James was sitting where he had been the day before, starting up a fire, but now he was surrounded by three other boys: one with black shoulder length hair, which he was in the process of tying back, another with shaggy brown hair who was kneeling at James' side, and a third boy with blonde hair, who was rummaging through a rucksack determinedly.

"Why'd you sleep out here last night?" the brown haired boy asked, but there was a kindness to his tone that was diminished by the snicker from his black haired friend.

"I had an unexpected visitor," James said, jerking his head toward the tent.

The two boys turned immediately to look at the tent and Lily flushed. "Err, hi," she said weakly, drawing James' eyes as well.

"Morning, Damsel!" he called cheerfully, rising from his seat to walk toward her. "Sleep all right?"

"Good morning. Yes, I slept fine," Lily answered, aware that one of the boy was mouthing 'Damsel' to the other, who shrugged in response.

"Lads, this is Damsel. She's a friend of M-squared, Padfoot."

"Ahh," the dark haired boy said – apparently these words meant something to him. He walked forward just as Lily extracted herself from the tent and stood up straight. "I'm Sirius."

"It's nice to meet you. My real name is Lily."

"Well, Lily-flower," Sirius began, and Lily realized that these boys were very keen on nicknames. "I offer my most sincere apology for you having to spend the evening with this prat. The rest of us, that is Remus, Pete and I, would've provided a much more entertaining night had we been able to be here."

James rolled his eyes, side-stepping to let Sirius closer to Lily. Remus and Peter remained where they stood, but they both smiled and waved their greetings to Lily.

"I accept your apology. But next time I'll expect you. I had a dreadfully boring time without you."

Sirius' face lit up, and he sent James a thumbs up from behind Lily's back. "Can I make it up to you by cooking you some breakfast?"

"Oh, err…"

"Lily's actually expecting M-squared and some friends to show up around now, so we're going to go see if we can find them," James answered on Lily's behalf.

Lily nodded, sending a grateful smile to James as she ducked back into the tent to get her sleeping back and rucksack. She was desperate to see her friends, if nothing else than to have a place to change her clothing. Sometime when she was sleeping, James must have changed his, which only made her more aware of the dirt stains on her own clothing.

"It was great to meet you all," Lily told them, once she emerged back out of the tent.

"Nice to meet you, too, Lily."

"Hopefully we'll see each other again, Lily-flower. James here is an excellent lad. You wouldn't believe me by the state of him now, but he cleans up well and – "

"_Thanks_, Padfoot," James told him, before turning toward Lily. His cheeks were flushed pink, and Lily found it endearing. He lowered his voice, "You ready?"

She nodded, before sending a last wave to the boys, and followed James away from the campsite and through the path in the forest. It didn't take them long to find Lily's friends, who had gone further into the forest than they had previously planned to. Upon seeing her, Mary and Marlene rushed over to hug her. After Mary released her she greeted James cheerfully, and Marlene carried Lily's rucksack to their recently constructed tent, where Amelia and Edgar were busy coaxing their own fire to life. After exchanging pleasantries, Lily looked around to see Mary walking toward them; James lingered, though, his hands tucked into his pockets as he watched her.

"I'll be back in a minute," Lily told her friends before walking back toward James.

He smiled as she approached him. "Well, how was your first night camping? You survived it okay, right?"

Lily smiled, "Not bad. It was definitely more interesting than I thought it would be."

"Good," James answered, before being interrupted by a loud call from Sirius.

"Oy, Prongs! Come on, mate. We're first up to go hiking!"

"Coming, Padfoot," James called over his shoulder. "Well, Damsel… I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend. Maybe we'll stop by later to see how you lot are doing."

Lily nodded, a small smile on her lips, as James, stuffing his hands in his pockets, turned away and began walking back up the path.

"James?" Lily called, before James walked too far away to hear her.

"Yes, Damsel?"

"Thanks… for… you know."

"It was nothing," he replied, smiling broadly at her.

Lily scoffed, "It most certainly wasn't! If it weren't for you…" she let her voice trail off ominously.

James studied her for a moment, before a smirk split his face. "Maybe you can make it up to me by taking me out to dinner next weekend? Somewhere more your speed, like an indoor restaurant."

Her eyes narrowed, playfully. "Maybe. But I think you'd like that too much, wouldn't you?" she asked cryptically, before turning on her heels and walking back toward her new campsite.

"Was that a yes?!"

Lily called over her shoulder, "Come back 'round later if you want. We're making S'mores."

Raking a hand through his hair, grinning, James replied, "See you then, Damsel!"


	7. Surprises

Surprises

**Disclaimer:** Harry Potter and everything related belongs first, and foremost, to JK Rowling, and then to her partnerships with Bloomsbury, Scholastics, Warner Bros., etc.

**Summary:** Jily Muggle AU: "Geez Lily where did you learn to shoot a gun like THAT?"

**Posted:** 04/13/15

* * *

James Potter has been dating Lily Evans for three hundred and twelve days. He knows she incessantly taps her pencil on the corner of her notebook when listening to lectures, for they had a happenstance meeting when he sat down next to her in a course at university. He also knows she prefers coffee to tea, and he frequently informs her that that makes her an improper English girl, and he loves that she always smiles and happily agrees. He still isn't over the fact that she _loves _football, maybe even more than he does, and he has nearly no control over his faculties when she puts on a jersey.

James Potter is in love with Lily Evans. And every day he thinks he couldn't fall more in love with her. And most days he is with her, he is proven wrong. Today will be no different.

She is windswept as she enters the library. She gives the lobby one sweeping look before she sets off, as if her radar has picked up the signal, and heads straight for him. He is sitting alone at a prime table that of course only he is lucky enough to get. His eyebrows shoot up in surprise when he looks up to see her perch herself on the table in front of him, her bag hanging loosely off her shoulder.

"Hey," he greets, but she cuts him off quickly.

"I need you to take me on a date tonight," she tells him matter-of-factly.

"Huh?"

"We need to make plans for tonight, James, it's an emergency!"

And there is an urgency to her voice and person, though James wonders if it's because she has a class in fifteen minutes and she has clearly gone out of her way to find him.

"What's wrong?"

"Hestia's having her horrid boyfriend over again tonight, and she's made it painfully clear I need to scamper off before then. I can't go to Mary's because she is doing a large overhaul on her apartment, remember? If I go there I'll wind up having to help her all weekend. Marlene is going out with this new bloke tonight, so I can't go there either. And Emmeline's gone and had a row with Davey so she'll want me to join her at the pub and I'll be hung-over all weekend long. Also, if I were to drive home to Cokeworth, my mum would guilt me into staying for the entire weekend." Her voice is so rapid that James struggles to keep up, though he is also staring at the way her leg is curved under her skirt so that probably doesn't help either. "That leaves you," she tells him, her tone again straightforward.

"I have plans with the lads tonight," he says, forcing his eyes away from her thigh and back up to her face. "It'll be just as boring as you going to Cokeworth or—"

But Lily is not listening to him. "And? The lads like me enough, don't they? I'll just tag along," she prompts, and when James still looks hesitant, she pouts. "Please, James?"

His resolve cracks, and though he knows he'll have to pay for it later, he nods. "Yeah, all right. Come to my place any time before six."

She hops off the table, visibly happy, and leans down to peck him on the cheek. "You are the best, James Potter."

He smiles to himself as he watches her dart back through the library and out of sight, before shaking his head and resuming his studies.

* * *

"Hm. Okay… Wait, okay. Now explain this to me again," Sirius goads, later that afternoon when James is back at their flat and has informed him that their plans for the evening have changed slightly. He is smirking at James, who frowns.

"It sounded a lot like a bird chirping, you know? Mary's doing this, Hestia's gone and done that, Marlene's off doing something. At any rate, Lily's coming out with us tonight. She's a good sport, so I don't see why it's a problem," James says, seriously. Truthfully, he can see why Sirius thinks it will be a problem, but he isn't going to vocalize that bit.

Sirius nods reluctantly. "She is the best bird you've ever dated, I'll give you that…"

"It'll just be a one-time thing," he placates, and finally Sirius looks pacified.

The boys whittle away the rest of the afternoon in front of the television, only stopping to answer the door when Remus and Peter and finally Lily arrive.

"Hi," Lily says brightly, when she enters the flat.

James looks pleased when the boys greet her just as kindly, and not long afterward, they leave. As Lily tucks her small hand in his as they walk, Sirius' face breaks into a galling smirk, but James ignores him. He does his best to carry a pleasant conversation between his girlfriend and friends, but there is a slight strain in conversation. Though they have been around Lily for months now, James still sees that his friends often censor some of their words or thoughts around her, despite him telling them they needn't take it so far.

Lily is visibly surprised when they arrive at the indoor gun range, and James realizes sheepishly that he never told her where they were spending the first part of their evening. Nevertheless she seems eager to pick out a pistol and earplugs. James watches as Lily selects an excellent pistol, and though he supposes it's just a lucky selection, he still sends a proud smile to Sirius, who has been watching just as curiously.

After they make their selections and hear a brief lesson on their safety procedures, Sirius leads the group into the shooting range. It's dark throughout, except for a long line of spot-lights that shine on the paper targets at the far end of the room. There's an outline of a human silhouette printed on the white background, and Sirius is the first to line up to take aim at it. Out of the corner of his eye, James sees Lily watch Sirius, and then Remus, and then Peter. When it is James' turn, he addresses Lily.

"If you stand back you can get a proper look watching me do it," James informs her. His eyes are back on the target in front of him before a broad smile appears on Lily's face. Dutifully, she lingers behind him, standing next to Sirius who has also come over to watch.

James' first shot is low, near the stomach of the would-be person, but his next two gradually get higher and his fourth and fifth pierce through the center of the paper, almost dead-on.

"He's always been the best," Sirius tells Lily, his voice a mixture of proud and envious. "Can't best the blighter no matter how often we come here. If you need pointers, I suppose you've picked the right bloke to date."

Lily smiles appreciatively at Sirius. She is still getting to know the boys – there are even things about James she is still learning – but she is grateful when Sirius is forthcoming, because she knows he is James' very best friend. And what's important to James is important to her.

"Excellent," she says finally to Sirius, and then reiterates her sentiment to James when he removes his ear protection and safety glasses. "Well done, James!"

"Thanks," he replies, unable to hold the grin off his face. "Need a few pointers?"

Lily smiles broadly herself as the four boys come closer to the cell of the range she will be shooting from. "Perhaps. How about you just watch me try it and afterward you can give me your pointers?"

"Sounds good," James agrees easily, as they line up behind her.

Lily exhales, straightening her features as she secures her safety equipment and steps forward. She fires quickly, four shots all surrounding the center of the target – where the heart of the person would be – and for good measure hits the forehead for her fifth shot. She studies her target thoughtfully, not entirely pleased with her precision, before turning around.

The boys are gaping at her, and it takes all she has to not burst at the seams laughing.

"Geez, Lily, where did you learn to shoot a gun like _that_?!" James asks, though she wonders how considering his jaw is on the floor.

Lily shrugs, "Beginner's luck, perhaps? Or maybe I've grown up going to the shooting range with my dad twice a month since I was seven?"

Immediately Sirius, Remus, and Peter break through their stupor and begin praising and questioning her in a loud jumble of voices she can scarcely make out. But she has eyes only for James, and his are only for her, too. The hazel has gone dark and intense, and there's a ferocity in his stare that makes her wish that they were alone somewhere. But there is time for that later – much later, actually. For they stay at the range for the next hour trying to best one another until hunger wins out and they go to the pub for supper and drinks. Sirius is so impressed by Lily that he offers to buy her dinner, which James agrees he can do if he also pays for James' meal. They walk back to Sirius and James' flat, James' arm wrapped around her shoulder as they laugh and laugh, and Lily reflects on how grateful she is for Hestia's prat boyfriend.

Lily isn't at all surprised in the month to follow when James tells her he loves her. When considering all the surprises they have in store for each other, she hopes he isn't surprised to hear her tell him she loves him too.


	8. Interesting Circumstances

Interesting Circumstances

**Disclaimer:** Harry Potter and everything related belongs first, and foremost, to JK Rowling, and then to her partnerships with Bloomsbury, Scholastics, Warner Bros., etc.

**Summary:** Jily Muggle AU Officer/arrestee. Inspired by long live marshmallows review – I hope you (and everyone else!) likes it!

**Posted:** 05/10/15

* * *

The old man sat at a dark mahogany desk facing the iron bars of the station's holding cell. His gray hair was combed immaculately to the side and his uniform spotless. His eyes, however, were blood shot under a pair of glasses that were being picked off the bridge of his nose frequently as he rubbed his tired eyes. He knew he only had minutes left yet couldn't help himself from staring at his watch. It proved much easier to ignore the angry voice from the holding cell when he knew he was going to punch out any moment.

"Evening, Clive," a younger man said, coming into view from around the corner in the echoing stone hallway attached to the room. He too wore glasses, but otherwise was the exact opposite of Clive. He seemed disheveled on principle.

"'Lo, James. 'm glad to see you," Clive responded, sending the uncomfortable metal chair screeching backwards as he stood. "Would stay 'round to chat but…" When the younger man, James, reached his side, he lowered his voice. "Good luck with this one. Hasn't giving me more than a mo' peace before yelling 'er head off 'bout this and that."

James tossed a quick look over to the cell, but from where he was standing he could only see a mess of red hair. "Don't you worry about me, Clive."

Clive studied the younger man's restrained smirk and then opened his mouth. He seemed to think better of it, however, and closed his mouth before patting James on the shoulder and trudging past him.

The change of guard seemed to awaken the mane of hair, and as James sat down at the desk, he watched her stand up straight and wobble toward the bars – clearly intoxicated. James had to stop himself from smirking.

"This isn't even _my_ fault," the girl told him, her voice rash. Her hair, tied to one side, swung wildly at her shoulder.

"Someone force you to go to the pub tonight, did they?" James answered, unconcerned. He had begun thumbing through the paperwork on the desk and discovered her name: _Evans, Lily; drunken disorderly conduct._

"Of _course _not," she said, hotly. At this James looked up, his eyebrows rising up his forehead. "Your snark is unappreciated, by the way!" She seemed to finally notice she was no longer talking to Clive. "Where'd that old codger get to?"

James' eyebrows descended back to their normal place, then stitched as he considered her. Not that James ever much looked forward to overnight shifts watching the holding cell, but he was definitely not excited at the prospect of listening to this drunk bint all night.

"His shift ended."

"So now they expect you to be the guard? A lanky bloke like you? Well, I suppose if they thought that old man could…"

James found himself now amused instead of annoyed, as he watched the girl's attention trail away from her insults. Despite himself, he found himself rising to his full height and walking toward the cell. His approached gained Lily's full attention, and she took a step away from the bars as she studied him.

"Lanky, am I? Coming from someone who wouldn't be eight stones when wet. You're pocket-sized, Evans."

Her indignation faded to confusion as she heard her last name. She stumbled a step forward, her eyes bulged then squinted as she studied his nametag. After registering his name, she took another daring step forward and they were only separated by a few inches and iron bars.

"I've held my own versus blokes twice your size, _Potter_."

"I've been wondering whether you can read or not. Guess you probably could've had another couple of pints… Had you not been arrested, that is."

His reminder seemed to reawaken her anger. She took a step back from the bars and began a slow looping pace back and forth across the cell.

"I've already told you – and I told that other man, as well, and I specifically shouted it so he could hear me through his hearing aid – this is _not _my fault. I got ditched during a bachelorette party and I was just trying to get help back to my mates."

Even though he didn't want to, James could hear the sincerity in her voice. Well, once he got past her snide dig at Clive. He watched as she stopped pacing, instead opting to sit down on the large cement bench at the back of the cell. Indeed she was dressed for an evening out. She had on high heels and her hair was twisted to one side. He also noticed a small jacket sitting next to her in the cell, and he tried to not notice the small black skirt riding up her thigh. Police were required to studied people and note important details, but he knew he definitely shouldn't be noticing _that_.

James looked around, his hand flying into his hair, causing it to stand up at the front. "Did you get in touch with them, then? Clive gave you your phone call, yeah?"

Lily looked up, her eyes bright and brimming with tears (James swallowed). "I left a voicemail on my mate's mobile but she won't likely listen to it until tomorrow. Even if she were to listen to it tonight she'd be in no state to come here." Her voice quivered. "I j-just want to go _home_."

He swallowed again as Lily dabbed under her eye with the palm of her hand. "I can't let you out, Evans. But…"

She looked up to see him walk away from the bars to the cabinet behind his desk. He extracted a blanket and a shabby looking pillow from one of the shelves. Her wide green eyes watched as he quickly opened the iron door and marched inside. Her mouth opened but no words came out.

"These are the best we have lying around, I'm afraid. But they'll do wonders to make that bench a little more comfortable." His shadow fell over her, but his face was kind.

"Thank y-you," she said, as she stood with her hand outstretched.

Their eyes locked, and James noticed her stare harden. He cleared his throat, retreating, after the cloth left his finger-tips.

"You're welcome. Try to get some rest and you'll be out of here before you know it," James told her, quietly shutting the cell door.

He tried to not watch her pull the blanket around her as she curled atop the stone bench, but found himself staring at the way a stray piece of hair fell onto her cheek as she closed her eyes. Finally, he forced himself to go through the open case files he normally worked on during his overnight shifts. Occasionally, he found his eyes traveling up from the paper as Lily slept. By the time his shift drew to a close, he had finished three cups of coffee and five sets of paperwork.

The sun streamed in through the small window behind his desk. It casted a yellow light along the ground into the cell and landed as a stripe over Lily's face. The light highlighted the different shades in her dark hair, and it wasn't until she started stirring that James realized he had been staring at her. Just as she slowly sat up, growing accustom to her surroundings, two sets of echoing footsteps cut through the silence.

Then, "Lily!" a girl said, rushing into the room, her long brown hair flowing behind her.

"Marlene!" Lily replied, rising from the bench and stumbling toward the bars. The girls stood inches apart at the bars, Marlene talking in a furiously fast voice, and James' attention was drawn to the officer still standing at the door.

"They've decided to let her off with a warning," Officer Stebbins told James, lingering in the doorway as he waited for the girls.

"Right."

James stood from his desk and nimbly crossed the room and opened the cell door. Marlene threw her arms around Lily as she exited the cell. James heard profuse apologies from the brunette and quiet shushes from the redhead – evidently Lily was nursing a hangover.

"Thank you," Marlene finally said, turning to James as they continued walking past him.

"Sure," James said, before pursing his lips and nodding.

"Thanks," Lily said, and though she looked as though she wanted to say more, the tug on her arm from Marlene prompted her forward and she left with only a small backward glance at him.

James forced himself to nod at Stebbins. Then he forced himself to not watch her go.

The remaining few minutes of his shift passed with James thinking of anything but the red-head. But the moment he stepped outside his mind flew back to her. He saw her red hair and striking eyes, and even heard her sharp tone. He knew he was mad. Apart from extending common curtsey to prisoners, it had been drilled into his mind to not become overly friendly with them. Granted, this girl wasn't a typical prisoner. It had clearly been a misunderstanding that led her to the jail cell, and James suspected it to be unlikely for her to ever again be in the jail. That, he supposed, was why she lingered on his mind so much. He would never again see her, yet he wanted to. There was something about her, some quality, beyond what his mind could identify, that intrigued him. And it looked as though he would never have the opportunity to discover what that quality was.

He crashed onto the bed in his flat with this thought on his mind, but luckily fell asleep.

* * *

James thought of Lily for the next few days, though the amount in which she crossed his mind decreased as the days went on. He didn't share his thoughts with his roommate and best friend, Sirius, though, because he knew what Sirius would say anyway. _You've gone mad, mate, eying girls in the holding cell._ It was Sirius' voice in James' head that carried him through the remainder of the week, driving Lily out when she popped into his mind. Sirius' unspoken words worked so well, in fact, that by the next week James didn't think about Lily once, which only made her showing up at the police station that much better.

"Going across the road to grab some lunch," James told his supervisor Moody as he grabbed his jacket from behind his chair.

Moody sent a gnarled hand in the air from his office as a response, and James turned on his heel toward the stairwell. He jogged down the flights of stairs, his boots echoing loudly as they slammed the metal, but came to a slower pace as he pushed open the lobby door and stepped out onto the street. He was at the curb, a moment from stepping out to cross, when a flash of red caught his eye.

His head spun to look straight at her, and if she hadn't been striding directly toward him, he would have proceeded to cross the street.

"Hi," she called as she approached; her pace slowed significantly once he turned his body to face her. She was dressed more casually now: a shirt with a cardigan and a long pair of jeans. She also held a plastic container at her side.

"Hi," he replied, realizing now he was staring.

"I don't know if you remember me…" she began, her shoulders tucking inward as she looked sheepishly anywhere but his eyes.

"Lily Evans, right?" He was pleased at how casual his tone of voice was. _Sirius would be quite proud_, he found himself thinking.

"Yes," she said, exhaling a small breath in relief, but her shoulders now tensed again. "I'm sure this is a bit strange because it's been nearly a week but I wanted to thank you for being so kind… And I wanted to apologize for being so intolerable. I'm a terrible drunk."

"Oh," James said, wholly taken aback, his face breaking involuntarily into a smile.

"I baked biscuits!" Lily added, cutting him off as she pushed the container toward him. James' smile covered the entirety of his face as he grabbed the box from her. "There's quite a few in there… for you and Clive."

James felt his face falling and attempted to recover but he was certain his smile was more like a grimace and Lily recoiled.

"I'm sorry! Was this inappropriate? I don't mean to get you into trouble – or me for that matter! I just thought… well, I began to realize how rude I was, especially to Clive, and also to you, and…"

James couldn't help thinking her adorable as she rambled. Her cheeks were flushing now, and she was twisting her hands in front of her as she rocked on the balls of her feet. As he watched, his realized his face must have softened because her lips curved up in a small smile.

"It was very kind of you, Lily. I will definitely give these to Clive, and I'm sure he will appreciate them as well."

"Oh good!" Lily exhaled. "Well, I hope I'm not keeping you from important police work."

"Only the most important kind," James told her seriously, before adding: "Lunch."

Lily's face, which had straightened out in anxiety promptly relaxed again as James smiled. She ran her hands through her hair, laughing, before they once again began twisting in front of her.

"Well I should let you get to it then… I'm sorry I never caught your first name."

"James."

"James… It's nice to meet you officially. I'm Lily."

"I know," James told her, attempting to hide his growing smile. _Bloody hell, this girl is cute when she's flustered._

Lily looked mortified, and was slow in hiding the fact. "Right. Well. Thanks, James…"

And without another word, she whirled around on her heel and, in a near sprint, headed back down the sidewalk from once she came. James, for the first time confident about Lily, took a few steps to follow her before calling to her. She stopped in mid-step before turning back around.

"Yes?"

He closed the distance between them so he wouldn't have to raise his voice. "I know the circumstances in which we met were… interesting—"

"—to say the _least_—"

"—indeed—but nevertheless, would you want to go get dinner sometime…with me…?"

The pleased expression on her face told her what he needed to know, but hearing her instant, forced-casual "Yes" was certainly no disappointment either.

"Excellent."

James and Lily exchanged numbers, both gloriously failing at hiding their beaming faces, and bid each other farewell. But just as they were parting, Lily drew James' attention again.

"You aren't going to tell anyone how we met, are you? Like your mates or anyone...?"

"Lily, you have called into question what kind of man I am! So, I want you to listen very carefully to what I am going to say."

Hopeful, Lily prompted: "Yes, James?"

"I am going to tell _everyone_ how we met."

Lily's jaw dropped as she watched James, grinning, stride across the street. When he reached the other side, he paused to look at her shocked face and laughed.

"Oy! I want those biscuits back!" she called, her cheeks reddening and her mouth half-grinning – a mixture of furious, embarrassed, and pleased.

"Too late! See you for our date, Evans!" he yelled back.

Even from a distance she could see the mischievous glint in his eye. And God help her, but she _loved_ it.


	9. The Hider

The Hider

**Disclaimer:** Harry Potter and everything related belongs first, and foremost, to JK Rowling, and then to her partnerships with Bloomsbury, Scholastics, Warner Bros., etc.

**Summary:** Muggle AU: Lily spots her ex in a store James works at and asks to hide behind his desk. Suffice it to say, I don't think _asking_ is Lily's style.

**Posted:** 08/16/15

* * *

She does it without thinking. Throwing herself forward, she tumbles behind the counter, half rolling on her side out of sight. Her elbow throbs but she is immediately distracted by a bemused voice.

"Sorry, I don't mean to be rude," the clerk behind the desk pauses, considers, then carries on: "No wait, I do believe rudeness in this case would be permissible. Not to state the obvious or anything, but it's generally frowned upon for patrons to go behind the count—"

"Shh!" she hisses, as the door to the shop clinks open.

The clerk, clearly startled by the girl's unceremonious shushing sound, still turns around at the sound of the door and watches as a stocky blond haired man and a petite brunette enter the shop.

"Morning," he greets automatically.

The brunette smiles kindly in turn but the boy continues on speaking and leads her down one of the closest aisles. If the lack of response bothers the clerk, he doesn't show it, though his renewed incredulous look at the girl currently hunched down near him draws her timid explanation.

"Ex-boyfriend," she begins, though she feels that should be clarification enough.

"Dodging an ex-boyfriend?" the clerk asks, now amused. As he turns his body toward her she can see a starch white name tag fastened to his shirt that spells JAMES in big bold lettering.

"He left me for that girl," she whispers waspishly.

"Ah. Well while he's down that furthest aisle he won't be able to see you leave. Now is your chance," he instructs, peering toward the back of the shop as a look-out.

"I can't leave. Not without this, anyway." She holds up a dark blue textbook, one of the few this small book shop has left-over from the beginning of University term, and jostles it in front of her. "I've been to about five shops looking for this and I'm not leaving without it. And I can't pay for it until he's gone."

"And you expect to just stay behind here until they leave, do you? My manager's just step out for lunch and…"

"Oy don't look down here so much!" she scolds, peering around the side of the counter before ducking back out of sight. "Someone's going to realize I'm down here. Pretend to tie your shoes or clean back here." Looking around she added, "Though the latter might not be a bad suggestion for you _actually_ do."

"What's that bloke's name, anyway? Shall I call him over here for a nice chat?" he goads, his tone harder than before but the effect is diminished as he turns around to face the shelf.

"Amos, if you must know. And please, please don't."

"I won't. But then I won't need to."

"Why not?"

"'Cause by the time they come 'round the edge of the store, he'll be able to see you anyway. Unless you crouch behind this side of the counter. I can block you."

"You would do that?" she asks, pleasantly surprised.

"'Course," he says easily, now bending to mock-tidy the lowest shelves. "He sounds like a real arsehole."

"He is," the girl confirms before crawling to the side of the counter he indicated to her.

"Then why'd you date him?" James asks, the corner of his mouth twisting as he teased.

She doesn't catch his tone, and sputters defensively. "I—I didn't _know_ that when he asked me out. We only went out for a few months _anyway_ and—"

"I'm only—"

But he cuts his own words off as the boy approaches.

"Muttering to yourself there? Gets a bit lonely surrounded by nothing but paper, doesn't it?"

Amos is alone, but he laughs at his own joke. James' eyebrow shoots up immediately as he stares. Amos grins, but after a moment his face turns serious.

"You do know a bit about the shop, I presume. Can _you_ help me find something or is there someone—_else_—available?"

James is grinning—the girl can just make it out from her angle—and she doesn't have time to consider why before James speaks again.

"'Course I know about the shop." He pauses and points down an aisle before continuing. "If you're looking for something more your level of reading, there are picture books down this aisle all the way near the back of the shop. If _those_ are a little too advanced for you, we have a nice assortment of coloring books just a little ways from there. I'm sorry, is that rude of me? I was very presumptuous assuming you can't read. Presuming you can, the self-help books are on aisle five, right hand side at the beginning. You might find particular interest in the etiquette books."

"You—you—" Amos sputters after a moment, before turning on his heel, face red, and calling down the nearest aisle. "Hestia, we're going. Now."

The girl props herself onto her knees to watch Amos, reluctant to look at James, pulling Hestia behind him as he marches out of the shop. Before she knows it, she has fallen back on her butt in a fit of laughter. James turns to look at her, his own laugh breaking through an extremely proud smile.

"That was brilliant," she praises, through gasping breaths. "You are my hero."

He bows, before reaching a hand down to her. "I'm happy to help. Besides, that really livened up a rather boring afternoon." After accepting his help up, the girl promptly walks around to the patron side of the counter. "I do have one question for you though. What's your name, anyway? It'll be much easier to tell my mates this story without calling you 'The Girl Hiding Behind the Counter'."

"No that definitely doesn't roll off the tongue."

"Leaves much to be desired," James nods.

"How about 'The Hider'? Sounds like I could be an action-movie star."

James shakes his head, his face twisting in revulsion. "That sounds bloody awful."

"The movie or the title?" she asks, laughing.

"Both. Truly both."

They are both laughing when the girl finally gives in.

"It's Lily."

"Lily. I'm James," he says, extending a hand to her.

She shakes it before gesturing to his nametag. "Yeah, I'd figured that one out already, actually."

"Right. Name-tag. Anyway, Lily, are you ready to get that book now that Arse-mos is gone?"

"Arse-mos? You really are terrible at names," she jokes, attempting to hide her disappointment. "Yeah, I suppose this will do for now. I can see I've over-stayed my welcome. But I truly am grateful for your hospitality, James."

James, torn between confusion at her over-stayed welcome comment and pleasure at the sound of her soft voice saying his name, is slow to recover.

"Like I said, I was happy to help," he says, before processing her transaction.

There is a heavy silence between the two after James passes her bagged purchase back to her.

"Well, I should be going. Maybe I'll see you 'round here again. It is a nice shop." _Just leave, Lily. He's just a bloke at a bookshop. There isn't any reason you should ever want to see him again. He just wants to get his shift through with and go home. Plus he probably has a girlfriend anyway._

The unhappy thoughts drive her feet forward, until James speaks again.

"If you ever need to hide from an ex-boyfriend again, you know where to find me." _What an idiotic thing to say. If you want to ask her out you should just go for it, you blighter._

She laughs, though it sounds half-hearted, nodding as she walks toward the door. Her hand is on the handle when he speaks up again.

"You know maybe I should give you my number just in case."

"Just in case?" she reiterates, pretending to shift her purse onto her shoulder so he can't see her growing smile.

"Yeah, in case you need to hide," he offers, while scribbling his number on a spare bit of paper near the register. Upon seeing a small smile on her face, James confidentially walks around the counter toward her. "Or you know… even if you don't need to hide."

"Okay," she agrees, as he hands her the paper. "I suppose I'll… talk to you later, then?"

"I hope so."

She pulls open the shop door, stepping out onto the pavement grinning, hoping she has the good fortune to run into another ex-boyfriend. And soon.


End file.
